A great yard sale.....

.....is almost better than a "bird in hand" :) ~ What a great weekend! The weather is just gorgeous! Saturday was the perfect day for a yard sale! And Paula had some awesome stuff:like this cuter than cute little chicken basket...this wonderful little flower pot...lots of purple things {like this hat, modeled by Anne}.......but these were my favorites! There are 8 of them in the container and I'll be sending them off, one by one with the next 8 purchases from my shop. They are sooooo cute!!! You know you want one :)

I gotta run for now and get my "Art Box" ready. I'll blog about it Wednesday, with pictures. It's an awesome concept through a local restaurant.....really cool. But before I go, I must share this beautiful necklace that is brand new in the shop. It's called "Rock Me":
that huge chunk of Citrine is just gorgeous.

Happy Monday!!! Oh, and don't forget to comment on the last post for a chance to win that cute little "My Boyfriend's Back" bracelet.

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Friends {Old & New} and A "Freebie"

One of the things that I pride myself on is my list of friends {old & new}. Yesterday we went to dinner & a movie with our "new" friends, Tom & Sandi. We went to see "Taken", which was not as good as we thought it was going to be. It's just your typical "shoot em up, car chase thriller", with a totally predictable ending. The non-stop action just made my adrenaline pump way to high which, in turn, caused me to eat more that I should have at "P.F. Changs" {that's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking to it}. Ah, but just getting out and doing something was certainly with the trouble. We had a great time.

But the one thing about "old" friends is that you can always pick up the phone, or send them an e-mail and it's like you never missed a beat. One of my dearest and oldest {time, not age} friends is Christine {Chris}. We've been friends since high school and we were room-mates for a couple of years in the early 80's in Louisiana. In our mid 20's she and her family headed back to southern California, where she still lives today with her husband & two "furry" kids. She flew down here last summer for a week and we really enjoyed her visit and hope she comes back soon:hee hee ~ here she is with her little Bug!!! She {we} drove that car into the ground. I remember there was a "tricky" way to start it, which involved a screwdriver?!? {I think}. Maybe she'll post a comment on this blog to refresh my memory! And boy what memories we have! I know I don't have enough space on "blogger" to even start on those stories!

So, today's blog give away, in honor of those friends near & far, old & new, and to those yet to be met, is one of my best seller's ever. My little "Bird Girl Journey" necklace:She is being enjoyed by people all over the world! Of course, all you have to do to win her is comment on this post. I'll announce the lucky winner on Monday {February 9th}, which is also the day I'll be having a "Valentine Jewelry Trunk Show", along with another one of my special little girlfriends, Paula. We'll be setting up @ "The Hobnob" from 6 to 9ish pm. Please come see us, if you can.

Wayne {my best friend & soul mate} and I are going to ride up to the Parkway today and check out the snow!
Happy Wednesday!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"The gift of friendship ~ both given and received ~ is joy, love, and nurturing for the heart. The realization that you have met a soul mate...a kindred spirit...a sister...a true friend...is one of life's sweetest gifts!" ~ unknown

Frozen Art Show!!!

Brrrrrr......so yesterday's show was pretty much a bust. Everybody was freezing to death and not very many people were out shopping. Our hero of the day, though, was Wayne! Yay!!! He bought me a propane heater and we stayed snuggled up around it like Ozzy & Lita do when they have a good bone to chew on:You can't tell by this picture, but me Mike & Paula were all getting our butts toasted while we waited for customers to shiver & run by...awe, this lady actually spent more than 5 seconds looking @ my jewelry ~ sweet ;)and this sweet little lady scored some really cool head-bands from Carolyn...

but Mike's glass pendants....and Paula's awesome yarn broaches, hair pins, bookmarks & earrings were the hit of the day!

And I'll be making some new things with some of Mike's glass pendants {which will also be for sale soon in the "Purplebus Studio" on Etsy}, so check back often!

Happy Sunday! Stay Warm & Toasty!
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.” ~ Winnie the Pooh...

Whew....what a day!

Well yesterday was a sorta blur...my husband ended up in the emergency room having emergency surgery @ 2 am {Saturday}. He had a severe nose bleed that would not stop {no matter how many "google" remedies we tried and believe me, there are gazillions}. Come to find out, a small artery had split and was steady bleeding. So nothing we could have done would have stopped it. It was very scary & frightening for us both. They had to call in the surgical team {we live in a small town, so a surgical staff is not on duty 24/7 at the hospital}. So they all drag in right from bed ~ I asked them if they needed coffee or something before they started operating on my husband! They assured me that they "hit the ground running" and have done it a million times. They had to go in and cauterize the artery to stop the bleeding. Thank goodness they were able to find it! Needless to say, we didn't get back home until 4:15 am yesterday morning, both thankful and exhausted at the same time. But now, after a day & night's rest, I'm feeling 100% and he's feeling lots better! You know, I felt a little guilty when I realized just how much I love him, and what in the world would I ever do without him, while I'm sitting in the waiting room @ the hospital and he's having surgery. All that's going through my head is, gosh maybe I should have cooked him some meat loaf today, or gave him a massage, or just sat with him and had a conversation. So yes, that's what I'm doing today! All 3 of those things! And of course, what better reason to also cook some garlic mashed potatoes! The ultimate in comfort foods {besides chicken & dumplings} Yippie!And I did make this awesome little necklace yesterday with some gorgeous Keishi Pearls that I got from "J.Nic Designs" on Etsy! I named it "Free Bird" and, you know where to find it :)

So Happy Sunday!! We may get some "sneaux flurries" today! I'm spelling it like that, you know, because I'm from Louisiana and everything that ends in the pronunciation of "o" - "oh" or "ow" is spelled with an "eaux" ~ you kneaux! But, before I geaux, I just have to share one these awesome little bookmarks that my dear friend Paula is making:This one is my favorite {of course} ~ please do check out her shop! She has lots of things that would make really great Teachers/friends gifts :)

And don't forget!! 20% off from my shop until Midnight tomorrow night! {Nov. 17}
♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you." ~ Winnie the Pooh saying to Christopher Robin

Special People…

Gosh, it's amazing to me that only after living here for 6 months that we can *literally* fill up our house with friends on a Monday night! Yes, Monday! So we hosted Music Monday again and had a wonderful turn out – about 30 people! And one of the best parts about it is that ALL of the food was eaten! *Yay* ~ it only took about 15 minutes to throw the dishes in the dishwasher. I think it took Wayne longer to carry out all of the beer & wine bottles to the recycle bin this morning. And to top everything off, Rainbow & Jeff {who is an amazing drummer/musician} brought this wonderful homemade apple pie:

It just don't get anymore *American* than that, complete with a heart in the center! Unless, of course you include this awesome homemade humus from Jerry & Suzanne {Moon Shine Babies}:

Yummy ~ I could have just eaten it with a spoon. And my little turtle from Nick {The Duckpond Pottery} was chock full of flowers & herbs from the garden:

But the cutest thing of all were these precious diaper covers that little Jack {The Duckpond Potter's little baby} was wearing:

Nick & Jen always have little Jack dressed soooo cute. He's always sporting the latest fashions in handmade, mostly organic, clothes, shoes & diapers. They wouldn't hear of putting Pampers on his little butt. After all, remember the saying "Give A Hoot, Don't Pollute" {hee hee}.

Now Nick & Jen's pottery shop is right on the banks of the "French Broad River" and all summer long they host a slew of musicians who happen to be coming through this way, in what's been named "Duck Pond @ Dusk"
The events start up again this Thursday evening with "R.I.S.E. (Rising Appalachia)" – a group of 2 sisters {Chloe & Leah} that are pretty popular and very entertaining. I'll blog more on them after the show.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far. Before I go, I just have to share this awesome little yard art/bubble wand mermaid that my sweetest little friend in the whole world, Paula {Purple Bus Studios} made. I think it's just the most clever thing ever. And the world could use more bubbles, after all:

Off to make something new & enjoy the rest of the day ~ Hope you are all having a wonderful Tuesday!!!

Xxoo & peace always ~ Kathy

A "blue" daisy that I found yesterday when we took Ozzy & Lita to "Fawn Lake"

"In this world, artists are joyous. Unpredictability is the life of their paintings, their music, their novels, their creations. They delight in events not forecasted, happenings without explanation, retrospective." – Alan Lightman